Julie Gough (born 1965) is an artist, writer and

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

based in

Tasmania, Australia ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

Early life and education

Gough was born in 1965 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. Her paternal heritage is Scottish and Irish, while her maternal Aboriginal heritage is of the Trawlwoolway people of Tebrikunna, and her lineage has been traced to her ancestor, great-great-great-grandmother Dolly Dalrymple. She has lived mostly in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

, Tasmania, since late 1993. In 1986, Gough completed a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

(

pre-history Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

and

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

) at the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

. In 1989 she earned a Diploma of art at St Brigid's and Northbridge

TAFE Technical and further education or simply TAFE (), is the common name in English-speaking countries in Oceania for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational cours ...

Colleges in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, and from 1991 to 1993 studied for a Bachelor of Visual Arts, at

Curtin University Curtin University, formerly known as Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT), is an Australian public research university based in Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. It is named after John Curtin, ...

in Perth. In 1994, she completed a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

at the School of Art at the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...

. After completing a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Fine Arts at

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

(on a Samstag scholarship from the

University of South Australia The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...

), in 1998, Gough moved on to her

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

, which she earned in 2001 at the

. In her thesis, entitled ''Transforming histories: The visual disclosure of contentious pasts'', she explored her family history and heritage. Her thesis focused on reinterpreting the past via the artistic display of disparate objects which reframe narratives.

Career

Artwork

Gough's sculptural works have included the use of

kitsch Kitsch ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as naïve imitation, overly-eccentric, gratuitous, or of banal taste. The avant-garde opposed kitsch as melodramatic and superficial affiliation with ...

bric-a-brac sourced from op shops, often featuring racist or dated motifs. Using these relics in her art is about challenging and subverting their historical meanings. In 2001, her work, ''Driving Black Home'' (2000) contrasted with John Glover's colonial depiction of Tasmania, as part of the ''Australian Collection Focus series'' at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The Gallery withheld Benjamin Law's busts of Woureddy and Trucaninny from the exhibition at Gough's request, noting their history as anthropological objects. For the

bicentenary __NOTOC__ A bicentennial or bicentenary is the two-hundredth anniversary of a part, or the celebrations thereof. It may refer to: Europe *French Revolution bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of 14 July 1789 uprising, celebrated i ...

Federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

, Gough was commissioned by the

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum. The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...

to create an artwork in response to Emanuel Phillips Fox's ''The Landing of Captain Cook''. The resulting installation, ''Chase'', a suspended ti-tree forest with symbolic red cloth, was reviewed by Gabriella Coslovich as sitting in an "...uneasy relationship..." in display alongside Fox's painting. Margaretta Pos reviewed the work as having stillness and menace, with a sense of "...redcoats in the shadows." One of the Gallery's deputy art directors, Frances Lindsay, described the work as extending the narrative from the painting, to the unseen context of displacement of Aboriginal people. A survey exhibition of her work entitled ''Tense Past: Julie Gough'' opened at the

Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) is a museum located in Hobart, Tasmania. The museum was established in 1846, by the Royal Society of Tasmania, the oldest Royal Society outside England. The TMAG receives 400,000 visitors annually. ...

in 2019.

Other activities

In September 2001, Gough presented on the "Archaeology of nostalgia" at the ''Portraiture and Place'' symposium (jointly run by the National Portrait Gallery and the University of Tasmania). She worked as a curator of Indigenous art at the

from 2003 until December 2004, and was a lecturer in visual arts at the

James Cook University James Cook University (JCU) is a public university in North Queensland, Australia. The second oldest university in Queensland, JCU is a teaching and research institution. The university's main campuses are located in the tropical cities of Cairn ...

in 2005. Gough's undertook a residency at

Woolmers Estate Woolmers Estate is a farming estate located in Longford, Tasmania, founded in 1817 by prominent grazier and member of parliament Thomas Archer. It consists of an 82ha property, including a two-part manor house, coach house, the National Rose G ...

in 2018, researching her familial connections to

Norfolk Plains Longford is a town in the northern midlands of Tasmania, Australia. It lies 145 m above sea level at the convergence of the Macquarie River and the South Esk River, 21 km south of Launceston and a 15-minute drive from the airport. It ...

, Woolmers and Brickendon estates. Gough has/had a part-time role at the

Recognition and honours

In 2020 Gough featured as one of six Indigenous artists in the ABC TV series ''This Place: Artist Series''. The series is a partnership between the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

and the

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

, in which the producers travelled to the countries of "some of Australia's greatest Indigenous artists to share stories about their work, their country, and their communities". Gough was elected a Fellow of the

Australian Academy of the Humanities The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australia ...

in 2021.

Awards and funding

* Samstag scholarship from the

, 1997–1998 * Arts Tasmania Wilderness Residency, 2001 * Indigenous research joint grant (with Greg Lehman and Margaret Walter),

Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), established as the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (AIAS) in 1964, is an independent Australian Government statutory authority. It is a collecting, ...

, for a biography of Woretemoteyener, June 2003 * Visual Arts and Crafts Board Fellowship,

Australian Council for the Arts The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...

, 2006 *

State Library of Victoria State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in the ...

Creative Fellowship, 2006 *

State Library of Tasmania The State Reference Library is the reference library in the state of Tasmania, Australia. It is part of Libraries Tasmania. Libraries Tasmania includes a state-wide network of library services, community learning, adult literacy and the State� ...

Research Fellowship, 2006 * Artist in Residence, Turner Galleries, 2007 * Redlands Westpac Art Prize, 2009 *

Australia Council The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...

residency, Kluge-Ruhe in Virginia, 2017 * Helen Lempriere Scholarship, 2017 * Arts Tasmania residency, 2018 (funding awarded in 2017)

Exhibitions

Solo

* ''Re-Collection'',

Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi Gabrielle Pizzi (1940 – 5 December 2004), born Gabrielle Wren, was an Australian art dealer who promoted Aboriginal art from the Western Desert from the early 1980s. She created the Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi in Melbourne in 1987. In 1990, Gabri ...

, August 1997 * ''Ebb Tide'' installation, Eaglehawk Neck, 1998 * ''Tense Past'', Plimsoll Gallery, February 2001 (PhD examination) * ''Intertidal'', Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, May 2005 * ''Musselroe Bay'', Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, March 2007 * ''Interrupted'', Turner Galleries, August–September 2007 * ''The Ranger'', SASA Gallery, September 2007 * ''Rivers Run'', Cairns Regional Gallery, February–March 2010 and Devonport Regional Gallery, September–October 2011 * ''Hunting Ground Incorporating Barbecue Area'', Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, October 2014

Group

Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, 1998 * ''Between Phenomena'', Plimsoll Gallery, March–April 2001 * ''Driving Black Home'' in ''Australian Collection Focus series'', Art Gallery of New South Wales, May–June 2001 * ''Response to the Island'', Long Gallery, December 2001 * ''Native Title Business'': ''Contemporary Indigenous Art'', Cairns Regional Gallery, February–March 2003 (also toured in Hobart in 2004) * ''If Only You Knew'', City Gallery, February–March 2004 * ''Jumaca'', Old Fire Station Gallery, March 2005 * ''Cross Cultures'', Linden St Kilda Centre, July–August 2005 * ''Habitus -- Habitat: Great Walks Arts and Environment'', Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, January–February 2006 *

Biennale of Sydney The Biennale of Sydney is an international festival of contemporary art, held every two years in Sydney, Australia. It is a large and well-attended contemporary visual arts event in the country. Alongside the Venice and São Paulo biennales and ...

, June–August 2006 * ''An Other Place'', Long Gallery, March–April 2007 * ''Thresholds of Tolerance'', ANU School of Art Gallery, May–June 2007 * ''Power and Beauty'', Heide Museum of Modern Art, December 2007 - March 2008 * ''Ephemeral Art'', The Invisible Lodge, February–March 2008 * ''Ten Days on the Island'', 2009 * ''Mute relics and bedevilled creatures'', Counihan Gallery, May 2009 * ''River Effects: The Waterways of Tasmania'', Ten Days on the Island, 2011 * ''Evolving Identities'', John Curtin Gallery, May–June 2011 * ''Terrain: Landscape and Country in the Collection'',

Art Gallery of South Australia The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...

, December 2011-June 2012 * ''unDisclosed:'' 2nd

National Indigenous Art Triennial The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

, 2012 * ''BLAKOUT'', SCA Galleries,

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, May–June 2015 * ''Counting Tidelines'', CDU’s Nan Giese Gallery, August 2015 * ''Unsettled: Stories within'', National Museum of Australia, November 2015 * ''Exhibit A'', Lock-Up, December 2015 * ''Encounters: Revealing stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander objects from the British Museum'', National Museum of Australia, January–March 2016 * ''Everywhen: The Eternal Present in Indigenous Art from Australia'', Harvard Art Museums, February–September 2016 * ''With Secrecy and Despatch'',

Campbelltown Arts Centre Campbelltown Arts Centre (C-A-C or CAC) is a multidisciplinary contemporary arts centre located in Campbelltown, New South Wales, south west of Sydney, Australia. It is a cultural facility of Campbelltown City Council, assisted by other governm ...

, April 2016 * ''Unhoused'', Allport Library and Museum of Fine Art, July–September 2016 * ''Spectres of Modernity'', Ruth McHugh University Gallery, July 2016 * ''Who’s Afraid Of Colour?'',

, December 2016-April 2017 * ''Defying Empire'': 3rd

, National Gallery of Australia, 2017 * ''Black matter: origin (stage one)'', 146 Art Space, July 2017 * ''The First Tasmanians: Our Story'', Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, July 2017 * ''Book Club'', Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery, September–October 2017 *

Tarnanthi Tarnanthi (pronounced tar-nan-dee) is a Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art held in Adelaide, South Australia, annually. Presented by the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) in association with the South Austral ...

, at the Art Gallery of South Australia,

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, October 2021 – January 2022

Collections

Gough's work is held in a number of private and public collections, including: *

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...

** ''Bind'', sculpture (2008) ** ''Dark Valley, Van Diemen's Land'', sculpture (2008) *

Art Gallery of Western Australia The Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA) is a public art gallery that is part of the Perth Cultural Centre, in Perth. It is located near the Western Australian Museum and State Library of Western Australia and is supported and managed by the ...

** ''Human nature and material culture'', installation (1994) ** ''She was sold for one guinea'', assemblage (2007) ** ''The chase'', assemblage (2008) ** ''Some Tasmanian Aboriginal children living with non-Aboriginal people before 1840'', assemblage (2008) ** ''Hunting Ground (Haunted) & (Pastoral) Van Diemen's Land'', film and prints (2016) *

** ''Imperial Leather'', sculpture (1994) ** Chase, sculpture (2001) ** ''Leeawuleena'', sculpture (2001) ** ''Night Sky Journey'' and ''Tracking Self'', installation (2001) ** ''Kelp water carrier'', sculpture (2005) ** ''Drift'', sculpture (2005) ** ''Lifebearer'', sculpture (2005) ** ''Seam'', sculpture (2005) ** ''Land and sky from sea 1'' and ''Land and sky from sea 2'', paintings (2005) ** ''Observance'', film on USB (2011-2012) *

National Museum of Australia The National Museum of Australia, in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''National Muse ...

Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery The Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery (QVMAG) is a museum located in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia. The QVMAG is the largest museum in Australia not located in a capital city. History The foundation stone for the original building to ...

Launceston, Tasmania Launceston () or () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, Launceston has a population of 87,645. Material was copied ...

References

External links

Official website

Profile from Art Gallery of NSW

Profile on Trove
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gough, Julie Australian women artists 1965 births Living people Australian Aboriginal artists Australian writers Fellows of the Australian Academy of the Humanities